In this first volume of a lavishly produced two-volume collector's edition, The Library of America presents eight enduring masterpieces charting the evolution of the musical from the groundbreaking Show Boat through the genre's glorious mid-century. Based on new research, the complete libretto of each musical is presented in its Broadway opening night version, making these beloved cultural treasures available as never before. The texts are supplemented with additional song lyrics, biographical sketches of the musicals' creators, original cast lists, detailed accounts of each show's sources and production history, textual and explanatory notes, and full-color portfolios of illustrations featuring posters and photographs from each musical's original Broadway run. This volume gathers eight landmark musicals written by an astonishing roster of talents: Show Boat (1927) by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern, an epic work that revolutionized the musical form; As Thousands Cheer (1933) by Irving Berlin and Moss Hart--published here for the first time--a peerless example of the Broadway revue and a time capsule of the early Depression era; Pal Joey (1940) by John O'Hara, Richard Rodgers, and Lorenz Hart--in a newly restored text--with its sophisticated take on sex and ambition in a Chicago nightclub; Rodgers and Hammerstein's triumphant Oklahoma! (1943), a celebration of the American heartland that signaled a major leap forward in the development of the book musical; On the Town (1944) by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Leonard Bernstein, the spirited tale of three sailors enjoying an unforgettable twenty-four-hour shore leave in "New York, New York"; Finian's Rainbow (1947) by Fred Saidy, E. Y. "Yip" Harburg, and Burton Lane, an improbable fusion of Irish mythology, Jim Crow politics, and the economics of the atomic age; Kiss Me, Kate (1948) by Samuel and Bella Spewack and Cole Porter, which brushed up Shakespeare to an irreverent Broadway sheen, and won the first Tony Award for Best Musical; and South Pacific (1949) by Rodgers, Hammerstein, and Joshua Logan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning success that tapped into still-vivid emotions about the experience of World War II.-- Publisher description

In this second volume of a two-volume collector's edition, The Library of America presents eight enduring masterpieces showcasing the genre's glorious mid-century flowering and its response to the turbulent 1960s. Based on new research, the complete libretto of each musical is presented in its Broadway opening night version, making these beloved cultural treasures available as never before. The texts are supplemented with additional song lyrics, biographical sketches of the musicals' creators, original cast lists, detailed accounts of each show's sources and production history, textual and explanatory notes, and full-color portfolios of illustrations featuring posters and photographs from each musical's original Broadway run. This volume showcases eight enduring works from the genre's Golden Age: Guys and Dolls (1950) by Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling, and Abe Burrows brings Damon Runyon's gamblers and chorus girls to vivid life; The Pajama Game (1954) by George Abbott, Richard Bissell, Richard Adler, and Jerry Ross offers a lighthearted take on the relations between capital and labor; My Fair Lady (1956), Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's glittering adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, a box-office sensation that elevated the tone of the American musical; Gypsy (1959) by Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, and Stephen Sondheim embraces the relentless ambitions of the ultimate stage mother to frame a poignant look at the vanishing traditions of vaudeville; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) by Burt Shevelove, Larry Gelbart, and Stephen Sondheim, a joyously farcical romp set in ancient Rome; the heartbreaking Fiddler on the Roof (1964) by Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock, and Sheldon Harnick, based on Sholem Aleichem's haunting tales of life and changing times in a Russian shtetl; Cabaret (1966) by Joe Masteroff, John Kander, and Fred Ebb, which views a political crisis through the prism of a Weimar nightclub; and the playfully irreverent 1776 (1969) by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards, a brilliantly drawn character study of the Founding Fathers on the eve of Independence. --Publisher description